Physics Colloquium

Thurs. Jan. 16, 2025 — Dr. Tong Wang, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School — “Quantitative methods for microbiome research and precision nutrition” (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Jan. 23, 2025 — Dr. Caitlin Witt, Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA), Adler Planetarium, Northwestern University — “Forging a Multi-Messenger View of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries” (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Jan. 30, 2025 — Dr. Allen Scheie, MPA-Q division, Los Alamos National Laboratory — “Neutron scattering: its history, philosophical implications, and its use to probe quantum materials” (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Feb. 6, 2025 — Dr. Jingang Li, University of California, Berkeley — “Advancing Optical Manipulation and Measurement at the Nanoscale” (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Feb. 13, 2025 — Professor Katherine Albanese, Department of Chemistry, Wake Forest University — “Uncovering Histone Epigenetic Biology Through de novo Protein Design” (Host: F. Salsbury)

Thurs. Feb. 20, 2025 — No scheduled Physics Colloquium due to scheduling conflict with the Wake Forest University’s Founder’s Day Program

Thurs. Feb. 27, 2025 — Professor Erin L. Ratcliff, Department of Materials Science and Engineering,
Georgia Institute of Technology — “Defects, Devices, and Degradation in Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cells” (Host: O. Jurchescu)

Thurs. Mar. 6, 2025 — Mark Roberson, Ph.D., PMP, President and CEO, Goldfinch Sensor Technologies and Analytic LLC (GSTA) — “Short Bowel Syndrome–using enough physics (but no more) to aid in surgical intervention” (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Mar. 13, 2025 —  Spring break

Thurs. Mar. 20, 2025 — No scheduled Physics Colloquium

Thurs. Mar. 27, 2025 — Professor Raja Ghosh, Departments of Physics and Chemistry, NC State University — “Probing the Spectroscopy and Dynamics of Polarons and Excitons in Organic Materials” (Host: A. Kandada)

Wed. Apr. 2, 2025 — Professor Fan Yang, Department of Computer Science, Wake Forest University– “Towards Conceptual Understanding of Large Language Models” (Host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Apr. 3, 2025 — Ph.D. Defense: Ian Newsome — “Semiclassical Effects in Curved Spacetime and Quantum Electrodynamics” — Olin 107, 9:00 AM (Advisor: Prof. P. Anderson)

Thurs. Apr. 3, 2025 — Special Colloquium on Perspectives in Physics, Professors Paul Anderson and Natalie Holzwarth

Friday Apr. 4, 2025 — Ph.D. Defense: Leda Gao — “Extracting information from black hole merger simulations: The robustness of quasinormal modes“ — Olin 107, 10:00 AM (Advisor: Prof. G. Cook)

Thurs. Apr. 10, 2025 — Professor Emilie Huffman, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics,Waterloo, Canada (WFU Assistant Professor of Physics Starting Fall 2025) — “Conformally Symmetric Views from a Fuzzy Sphere” (Host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. April 17, 2025 — Master’s Defense: Mitch Turk — “MD SIMULATIONS OF TMAO INTERACTIONS WITH E.COLI 16S RIBOSOMAL RNA” –Olin 107, 9:00 AM (Advisor: Prof. S. Cho)

Thurs. April 17, 2025 — Ph.D. Defense: Trevor Jenkins — “MODELING VAN DER WAALS INTERACTIONS WITH DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY” — ZSR 204, 12:00 PM (Advisor: Prof. T. Thonhauser)

Thurs. Apr. 17, 2025 — Professor Florian Mormann, University of Bonn — “Using Electricity in the Brain to Understand Human Memory” (Host: J. Macosko)

Tue. Apr. 22, 2025 — Physics Honors Presentations

Thurs. Apr. 24, 2025 — Physics Honors and Awards Ceremonies

Thurs. July 10, 2025 — Ph.D. Defense: Nick Corak — “Drought, Fire, and Vegetation Stress: Quantifying Ecosystem Responses to Climate Extremes” — Auditorium 4802 at Wake Downtown, 3:00 PM (Advisor: Prof. L. Lowman)

Thurs. Aug. 28, 2025 — Welcome Colloquium

Thurs. Sept. 4, 2025 — Prof. Pieremanuele Canepa, University of Houston, Dept. Electrical & Computer Engineering
Texas Center for Superconductivity, — “The Rise of Sodium-ion Batteries via In Silico Design and Optimization” (Host: T. Thonhauser)

Thurs. Sept. 11, 2025 — Dr. Keefe Mitman, NASA Einstein Fellow at Cornell University, — “Mergers and Messages: Decoding the Universe with Gravitational Waves” (Host: G. Cook)

Thurs. Sept. 18, 2025 — Dr. Andy Fisher, Professor of Chemistry & Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at UC Davis, — “Structural Basis for RNA editing by ADARs: Advancing Tools to Treat Genetic Disorders” UC Davis (Host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Sept. 25, 2025 — Dr. Laura Brenneman, Division Chair for High Energy Astrophysics, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, –“Measuring Supermassive Black Hole Spins Using X-ray Spectroscopy” (Host: A. Cárdenas-Avendaño)

Thurs. Oct. 2, 2025 — Dr. Frans Pretorius, Princeton University, Fellow of the American Physical Society and the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation, “Open Questions on the Dynamics of Black Holes,” (Host: A. Cárdenas-Avendaño)

Thurs. Oct. 9, 2025 — Dr. Cheng-Ju (Jacob) Lin, Assistant Professor, University of Miami, “Nonequilibrium Quantum Dynamics,” (Host: E. Huffman)

Thurs. Oct. 16, 2025 — Dr. Rustem Litvinov,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Multiscale Mechanics of Fibrinogen and Fibrin: from” (Host: M. Guthold)

Thurs. Oct. 23, 2025 — Dr. Andrew Czeidinski, AAAS S&T Policy Fellow at National Science Board “From Normal Modes to Principal Components: Finding Simplicity” (Host: O. Jurchescu)

Thurs. Oct. 30, 2025 —Dr. Dieter Hartmann, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University “Cosmic Gamma Ray Bursts: Relativistic jets and their use as Probes — 50 years of Time Domain Astronomy at High Energies” (Host: D. Carroll)

Thurs. Nov. 6, 2025 — Dr. Thankful Cromartie, U. S. Naval Research Laboratory “High-Precision Millisecond Pulsar Timing in NANOGrav’s New Era” (Host: C. Witt)

Thurs. Nov. 13, 2025 — Dr. Rana Ashkar (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Nov. 20, 2025 — Dr. Sudhakar Prasad (Host: K.Bonin)

Thurs. Nov. 27, 2025 — Thanksgiving holiday

Thurs. Dec. 4, 2025 — Dr. Sergei Tretiak,  Laboratory Fellow, T-1 Deputy Group Leader, MS B221, Theoretical Division & Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), Los Alamos National Laboratory, (Host: A. Kandada)

Thurs. Jan. 18, 2024 — Dr. Alejandro Cárdenas Avendaño, Princeton U, “A Panoptic Study of Strong Gravitational Phenomena”, host: D. Kim-Shapiro

Thurs. Jan. 25, 2024 — Dr. Jiang-Xiazi Lin, Brown University, “Exploring Emergent Quantum Phases in Two-Dimensional Flat Band Systems”, (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Feb. 1, 2024 — Dr. Emilie Huffman, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics,”Principles for Modeling Physically-Relevant Quantum Systems of Many Particles with Computers”, (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Feb. 8, 2024 — Dr. Samantha Barrick, Washington University, “Molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction at cell junctions and altered contractility in cardiomyopathy” (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Feb. 22, 2024 — Dr Burak Guzelturk, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, “Light-induced Structural Responses in Matter” (host: A. Kandada)

Fri. Feb. 23, 2024 in ZSR 404 —  Ph.D. Defense —  Lindsey Gray, Physics Graduate Student, “Synergistic Solar Energy Harvesting Solutions”, (advisor: D.Carroll)

Thurs. Feb. 29, 2024 — Prof. John Ballato, Clemson University, “Mother Nature and the unexpected materials science of advanced optical fiber lasers and amplifiers” (host: D. Carroll)

Thurs. Mar. 7, 2024 — Prof. Rob Maher, Montana State University, “Audio Forensic Analysis of Gunshot Sounds” (host: J. Dostal)

Thurs. Mar. 14, 2024 — Spring break

Thurs. Mar. 21, 2024 —  Prof. Ryan Melvin, University of Alabama, Birmingham, “Adventures in Time Series Analysis” (host: F. Salsbury)

Thurs. Mar. 28, 2024 — Dr. Ronit Freeman, UNC Chapel Hill, “Cell-Inspired Design of BioInteractive Materials” (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Apr. 4, 2024 — Margaret Daly, UNC Chapel Hill, “Design of Peptide-DNA Architectures to Build Functional Artificial Cells” (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Apr. 11, 2024 — Dr. Hagen Klauk, Max Planck Institute, Stuttgart (Germany), “High-Frequency Flexible Organic Thin-Film Transistors” (host: O. Jurchescu)

Thurs. Apr. 11, 2024 in ZSR 404 — Ph.D. Defense — Laxman Poudel, Physics Graduate Student, “Unveiling the Interplay of Nitric Oxide Signaling and Physiological Thiols; Novel Insights” (Advisor: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Apr. 18, 2024 — Part I of undergraduate honors presentations including Matthew Barnes, Josiah Brinson, and Jarlem López Morel. 

Thurs. Apr. 25, 2024 — Honors and awards

Tues. Aug. 6, 2024 — Professor Dr. Vojislav Krstić, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität ErlangenNürnberg (FAU), Germany, “Triggering new functionalities and states in materials: from nano-structuring to symmetry-breaking”, (Host: D. Carroll)

Thurs. Aug. 29, 2024 — Professor Michael Hecht, Princeton University, “Exploring Alternative Origins of Life with Genes and Proteins Designed De Novo” , (Host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Sept. 5, 2024 — Welcome Colloquium

Thurs. Sept. 12, 2024 — Undergraduate Summer Research

Thurs. Sept. 19, 2024 — George Holzwarth Memorial Biophysics Lecture: Professor M. Shane Hutson, Vanderbilt University, “Something’s wrong in the cellular neighborhood: the biophysics of how cells respond to nearby wounds”,  (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Sept. 26, 2024 — Members of Professor David Carroll’s Research Group, NanoteQ, Wake Forest University

Thurs. Oct. 3, 2024 — Professor Kui Tan,  University of North Texas, “In situ Vibrational Spectroscopic Studies of Chemical and Molecular Interactions in Metal-Organic Frameworks”, (Host: T. Thonhauser)

Thurs. Oct. 10, 2024 — Dr. Xuanfeng (Leo) Ding, Beaumont Proton Therapy Center, “A Journey to SPArc:  Spot-scanning proton arc therapy”, (Host: F. Salsbury)

Thurs. Oct. 17, 2024 — Fall break

Thurs. Oct. 24, 2024 — Dr. Angika Bulbul, Wake Forest University, “Imaging Through Unusual Apertures by Advanced Digital Methods and 3D Tracking Comparison of a Refractive vs. a Geometric Phase Plate”

Thurs. Oct. 31, 2024 — Dr. Alejandro Cardenas-Avendano, CCS-2/CNLS, Los Alamos National Laboratory (WFU Assistant Professor of Physics Starting Fall 2025), “From stable trapping to turbulence: Nonlinear dynamics in gravitational systems”, (Host: P. Anderson)

Thurs. Nov. 7, 2024 —  Professor Christianne Beekman, Florida State University, “Exploring phase transitions in frustrated magnets using capacitive torque magnetometry”, (Host: S. Winter)

Thurs. Nov. 14, 2024 — Professor Amy Nicholson, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, “The ties that bind: understanding nuclear forces from lattice QCD”, (Host: E. Carlson)

Thurs. Nov. 21, 2024 — Professor Carl Rodriguez, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, “The lives and deaths of star clusters, and the black holes they make along the way”, (Host: P. Anderson)

Thurs. Nov. 28, 2023 — Thanksgiving holiday

Thurs. Dec. 5, 2024 — Special Colloquium (Host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Jan. 12, 2023 — Professor John Weisel, U. Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, “Blood clot contraction: Mechanisms, pathophysiology, and disease” (hosts: M. Guthold and S. Baker)

Thurs. Jan. 19, 2023 — Dr. Timea Feller, University of Leeds, UK, “Mechanical behaviour of fibrin fibres, network
and plasma clots: how altered structures change mechanical response” (host M. Guthold and S. Baker)

Thurs. Jan. 26, 2023 — Dr. Ilias Belharouak, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, “Battery Manufacturing Opportunities for Our Energy Security” — Physics and Chemistry joint colloquium — (hosts: A. Lachgar and N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Feb. 2, 2023 — Dr. Mykhaylo Ozerov, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, “Magnetic Resonance in Far Infrared Spectral Range” (host S. Winter)

Thurs. Feb. 09, 2023 — Professor Eric Bittner, University of Houston, “What Spectral Line-shapes can Reveal” (host A. Srimath Kandada and A. Salam)

Thurs. Feb. 16, 2023 — Professor Adam (Wei) Tsen, University of Waterloo,Canada, “Tunneling Probe of 2D Kitaev and Moiré Magnetism”” (host: S. Winter)

Thurs. Feb. 23, 2023 — Professor Carlos Silva, Georgia Tech, “The nature of two quantum correlations in semiconductor polymers” (host A. Srimath Kandada)

Thurs. Mar. 2, 2023 — Professor Alexandra Paterson, University of Kentucky, “Organic transistors: Simple solutions to their complex problems” (host: O. Jurchescu)

Thurs. Mar. 09, 2023 — Spring break

Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 (3PM) — Professor Sylvester James Gates Jr., University of Maryland, “A Surprising Connection: Mathematical Coloring Problems & Supersymmetry!” (host: P. Anderson)

Thurs. Mar. 23, 2023 (2:30PM) — Professor Philip W Phillips, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, “Beyond BCS: An Exact Model for Superconductivity and Mottness” (host: S. Winter)

Wed. Mar. 29, 2023 (3:00PM) — Ph.D. Defense, Ellie Alipour, “Studies in blood and blood protein therapeutics” Advisor: D. Kim-Shapiro

Thurs. Apr. 6, 2023 — Dr. Yueping Zeng, Honeywell Corporation and WFU alum, “An introduction to Honeywell’s contributions to NASA’s human space flight missions such as the Orion and Artemis missions to the Moon and to Mars” (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Apr. 13, 2023 (9:00 AM) — Ph.D. Defense, Haardik Pandey, “Modeling Properties of Metal-Organic Frameworks with Density Functional Theory”, Advisor: T. Thonhauser

Thurs. Apr. 20, 2023 (3:30 PM) — Physics Department Honors and Awards Ceremony

Fri. Aug. 4, 2023 — Ph.D. Defense – Nouf Alharbi, Physics Graduate Student, “Mechanical Properties of Single Electrospun Nanofibers for Biomedical Applications”, (Advisor: M. Guthold)

Thurs. Aug. 31, 2023 — Welcoming Colloquium

Thurs. Sept. 7, 2023 — The originally scheduled program has been rescheduled for Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. The usual colloquium reception at 3:30 PM in the Olin Lobby will still be held.

Thurs. Sept. 14, 2023 — Professor Salman Azhar, Duke U and WFU Alum — “Fantastic Frameworks From Physics” (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Sept. 21, 2023 — Professor Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena, Georgia Tech, “Phase Transformations via Surface Defects in Halide Perovskites” (host: O. Jurchescu)

Thurs. Sept. 28, 2023 —  Professor Clausell Mathis, “Culture-Based Approaches to Physics Instruction” Michigan State U (host: F. Salsbury and J. Macosko)

Thurs. Oct. 5, 2023 — Professor Jessica I. W. Morgan, Scheie Eye Institute, “Adaptive Optics and Interference Theory Enable Measurement of Retinal Function” U Penn and WFU Alum (host: M. Guthold)

Thurs. Oct. 12, 2023 — Fall break

Thurs. Oct. 19, 2023 — Professor Michael Graetzel, EPFL, Switzerland, “Molecular Photovoltaics and the Advent of Perovskite Solar Cells” (in collaboration with Chemistry’s Vail lectureship; hosts: W. Hinze and E. Ghadiri)

Thurs. Oct. 26, 2023 — Professor Carlos Bustamante, “Division of Labor and Mechanism of Translocation in a Ring ATPase” UC Berkeley, (host: M. Guthold and J. Macosko)

Thurs. Nov. 2, 2023 —  Professor David Gracias, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, “Physical Intelligence at the Interface of Biology and Engineering”, Johns Hopkins University (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Nov. 9, 2023 — Professor Huilin Li, “CryoEM – what it is, and how we are using it to reveal the chemical and physical basis of biological macromolecules that duplicate the genomes”, Department of Structural Biology, Van Andel Institute (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Nov. 16, 2023 — J. Denice Lewis, Research and Instruction Librarian for Engineering and Science, WFU — “Improving your research workflow with AI tools” — (host: F. Salsbury)

Fri. Nov. 17, 2023 — Ph.D. Defense – Ryan Sullivan, Physics Graduate Student, “Molecular Rectifiers: Design and Applications”, (Advisor: O. Jurchescu) at 3 PM in ZSR – Rm 404

Thurs. Nov. 23, 2023 — Thanksgiving holiday

Wed. Nov. 29, 2023 — Masters Thesis Defense – Zezhong Zhang, Physics Graduate Student, “Relationship between Fibrin Clot Structure and Fibrinogen and Thrombin Concentrations” (Advisor: M. Guthold) at 9 AM in Olin 107

Thurs. Nov. 30, 2023 — Professor Aditya Devarakonda, Department of Computer Science, WFU — “Algorithmic Techniques for Scalable Machine Learning and Applications” — (host: F. Salsbury)

Thurs. Dec. 7, 2023 — Dr. Jianhang Xu, UNC- Chapel Hill — “Nuclear Quantum Effects: Insights from First-Principles Theory” (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Aug. 25, 2022 — Welcome and Summer research presentations including Chao Shang, Eduardo Castellanos, Josiah Brinson, and Ethan Payne

Thurs. Sept. 8, 2022 — Research opportunities in Physics at WFU – Part II featuring experimental biophysics and condensed matter physics in the laboratories of Dany Kim-Shapiro, Martin Guthold, and David Carroll.

Thurs. Sept. 1, 2022 — Summer research presentations Part II including,   Arina Yu, Jesse Gao, Emily Foley, and Matthew Barnes followed by  Research opportunities in Physics at WFU – Part 1 featuring  innovative optics and lasers in the laboratories of Ajay Ram Simrath Kandada and Vice Provost Keith Bonin.

Thurs. Sept. 15, 2022 —Professor Yoeri van de Burgt, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands – “Organic Neuromorphic Electronics and Biohybrid Systems” – (host: O. Jurchescu)

Thurs. Sept. 22, 2022 — Research opportunities in Physics at WFU – Part III featuring the condensed matter physics experimental laboratory and computation/theory groups of Oana Jurchescu, Stephen Winter,   Timo Thonhauser (presented by Saif Ullah),  and Natalie Holzwarth.

Thurs. Sept. 29, 2022 —  Research opportunities in Physics at WFU – Part IV featuring computation/theory groups in biophysics and in gravitational physics of Fred Salsbury (also representing Sam Cho),   Greg Cook,  Paul Anderson,  and Eric Carlson.

Thurs. Oct. 6, 2022 — Dr. Wanyi Nie,  Los Alamos National Laboratory and WFU alum – “Carrier transport in 2D perovskite semiconductors and its application in high performance X-ray sensing” (host: D. Carroll)

Thurs. Oct. 13, 2022 — Fall break

Thurs. Oct. 20, 2022 — Professor Nicholas Kortessis, WFU Biology, “More than just noise: Embracing environmental variability and its consequences for ecology” (host: S. Winter)

Thurs. Oct. 27, 2022 — Professor Zahra Raissi, “Multipartite entanglement, and error correction”, Virginia Tech (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Nov. 3, 2022 —  Dr. Rodney Averett, Exponent, Inc., “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?” How to Leverage Your Experiences for a Career in Biomedical Engineering and Technologies (host: M. Guthold)

Thurs. Nov. 10, 2022 — Professor Rongmon Bordoloi, NCSU, “A Tale of Cosmic Ecosystems: How galaxies evolve” (host: P. Anderson)

Thurs. Nov. 17, 2022 — Professor Vinod Menon, Dept. of Physics, City College of New York CUNY.  “Strong light-matter interaction in 2D materials” (host: A. R. S. Kandada)

Thurs. Nov. 24, 2022 — Thanksgiving Holiday —

Tues. Nov. 29, 2022 — Taylor Ordines, WFU graduate student — Ph. D. Defense — “Semiclassical Prediction of the Preinflationary Era, and Limits on f(R,T) Gravity” — Mentor: E. Carlson — Public talk: 10-11 AM in Olin 107.

Tues. Nov. 29, 2022 — Robert Link, WFU graduate student — Master’s Defense — “The Solvothermal Growth of Moiré Superlattices in Antimony Telluride Spiral-Type Nanoplates” — Mentor: D. Carroll — Public talk: 2-3 PM in Olin 107.

Thurs. Dec. 1, 2022 —Professor Hanli Liu, UTA and WFU alum, “Near-infrared light stimulation on the head enhances cerebral metabolism, connectivity, and EEG powers in healthy humans”   (host:   D. Kim-Shapiro)

Tues. Dec. 6th, 2022 — Matthew Waldrip, WFU graduate student — Ph. D. Defense — “High-performance Transistors Through Rational Device Design” — Mentor: O. Jurchescu — Public talk: 1-2 PM in ZSR 404

Thurs. Jan. 28, 2021 — Professor George C. Schatz, Northwestern University  — “Plasmonic Lattices” (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Feb. 04, 2021 — Professor Lalit Deshmukh, University of California, San Diego –“ALIX in Wonderland: Multivalency, Phosphorylation-mediated Amyloids, Autoinhibition, and Endosomal Membrane Interactions” (host: S. Cho)

Thurs. Feb. 11, 2021 — Professor Carolyn Bertozzi, Stanford University — “Therapeutic Opportunities in Glycoscience” (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Feb. 18, 2021 — Professor Eric R. Scerri, UCLA — “A Tale of Seven Scientists and a New Philosophy of Science” — (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Feb. 25, 2021 — Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, University of Oxford — “Pulsars – Their Discovery and Impact” (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Mar. 04, 2021 — Professor Burkhard Rost, Technical University of Munich — “Artificial Intelligence Captures Language of Life Written in Proteins” (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Mar. 11, 2021 — Professor Harry B. Gray, Caltech — “Metal Oxos in Chemistry and Biology” (host: J. Macosko)

Thurs. Mar. 18, 2021 — Professor Frank von Hippel,  Princeton University — “The Risk of Nuclear War and How Physicists, Acting as Citizen-Scientists, Can Help Reduce It” (hosts: J. Macosko and D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Mar. 25, 2021 — Dr. Samindranath Mitra, Editor, Physical Review Letters — “You Have Your Physics Results. Now What?” (host: N. Holzwarth)

Tues. Mar. 30, 2021 — Hamna Iqbal, WFU graduate student — Online Ph.D. Defense: “Dynamics of Charge Carrier Traps in Organic Semiconductors” — 9 AM — mentor: Professor Oana Jurchescu

Thurs. Apr. 01, 2021 — Dr. Gail H. Marcus, Independent Consultant on Nuclear Power Technology and Policy based in Washington DC — “From Fukushima to the Future: Lessons Learned and New Developments”  (Part of Special Event:   “Remembering the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster”  in coordination with the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Engineering; physics host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Apr. 08, 2021 — Dr. Michael J. Marcus, Marcus Spectrum Solutions LLC — “Can Next-Generation 6G Mobile Communications Above 100 GHz Find a Way to Coexist with Passive Satellites Used for Weather and Environmental Sensing?”   (Joint colloquium with Engineering; physics host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Tues. Apr. 13, 2021 — Ren Tong, WFU graduate student — Online Ph.D. Defense: “Considerations on Two Types of Solid-Sate Dosimeters for Ionization Radiation” — 1 PM — mentor: Dr. J. Daniel Bourland

Thurs. Apr. 15, 2021 — Dr. Vincent Noireaux, Physics and Nanotechnology (PAN), University of Minnesota –“Programming With DNA Outside Living Cells: From Gene Circuits to Self-Assembly” (host: J. Macosko)

Thus. Apr. 22, 2021 — Melissa Pashayan, WFU graduate student — Online Ph.D. Defense: “Tunable Collagen I Matrices for Cellular Migration Assay and Mechanical Properties of Mitotic Mammary Cells” — 1 PM — mentor: Dr. Jed Macosko

Thurs. Apr. 22, 2021 — Dr. Jimmy Chen, Google AI Quantum, Mountain View, CA — “Quantum Computing with Superconducting Qubits” (host: Oana Jurchescu)

WEDNESDAY Apr. 28, 2021 — Dr. Miles Silman, Department of Biology, Wake Forest University — “The Electromagnetic Spectrum and Carbon Nanomaterials in Andean and Amazonian Conservation” (host: Mark Welker, Dept. of Chemistry–note this colloquium is on Wednesday.  For students enrolled in PHY301/601 or others unable to attend due to the day change, please contact Professor Jed Macosko at macoskjc@wfu.edu or wfuphys@wfu.edu for the recorded version. 

Thurs. May 6, 2021 — Honors Presentations and Awards Ceremony — (host: Dany Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Sept. 2, 2021 — Welcome and Summer research presentations

Thurs. Sept. 9, 2021 — Memorial Colloquium in honor of Richard T. Williams (host: B. Ucer)

Thurs. Sept. 16, 2021 — Physics Research Opportunities at WFU — Part I Experimental Projects (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Sept. 23, 2021 — Physics Research Opportunities at WFU — Part II Theoretical and Computational Projects (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Sept. 30, 2021 — Physics Research Opportunities at WFU — Part III and Discussion of Colloquium Program (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Oct. 7, 2021 — Fall break

Thurs. Oct. 14, 2021 — Professor Guglielmo Lanzani, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy — “Polymer Nanoparticles Rescue Vision in Blind Retinas” (host: A. R. S. Kandada)

Thurs. Oct. 21, 2021 — Yan Li, WFU graduate student — Ph. D. Defense: “First Principles Investigations of Electrolyte Materials in All-Solid-State Batteries” — 9AM-10AM (note special time) — mentor: Professor Natalie Holzwarth

Thurs. Oct. 21, 2021 — Professor Jarrett Lancaster, High Point University, NC — “Simulating Quantum Dynamics with Quantum Computers” (host: D. Kim-Shapiro)

Thurs. Oct. 28, 2021 — Professor Charles Agosta, Clark University, Worcester, MA — “Inhomogeneous Superconductivity, Pulsed Magnetic Fields, and an Abundance of Data” (host: S. Winter)

Thurs. Nov. 4, 2021 — Yan Li, WFU — “First Principles Investigations of Electrolyte Materials in All-Solid-Sate Batteries” (host: N. Holzwarth)

Thurs. Nov. 11, 2021 — Professor Valy Vardeny, University of Utah — “Spin Response of Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Halide Perovskites” (host: O. Jurchescu)

Tues. Nov 16, 2021 — Colin Tyznik, WFU graduate student — Ph. D. Defense: “Metal Halide Perovskite: Innovations in Applications and Processing” — 2:30PM-3:30 PM (note special time) — mentor: Professor Oana Jurchescu

Thurs. Nov. 18, 2021 — Professor Rodrigo B. Capaz, Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil “Breaking Ultrathin Ionic Wires in LNNano” (host: S. Ullah)

Thurs. Nov. 25, 2021 — Thanksgiving Holiday —

Thurs. Dec. 2, 2021 — Professor Murray Daw, Clemson University “Collapse of the Collapse: Physicists Return to Reality” (host: T. Thonhauser)